Colorado Springs, Colo.Two American states have learned that their 8th graders canacademically hold their own against their peers around the world.

In special testing conducted last year, students from Missouri andOregon bested the performance of U.S. 8th graders in 1995 on theThird International Mathematics and Science Study tests. Presentersat the Council of Chief State School Officers' annual conference onlarge-scale assessment discussed the results here last week for thefirst time in a national venue.

In addition to outscoring the United States as a whole, Missouri andOregon students performed above the international average in bothmathematics and science, according to Pascal D. Forgione Jr., the U.S. Department of Education's commissioner of education statistics.

"It's good news for both of them," Mr. Forgione said of the twostates.

Comparison Opportunity

By having the same students take the rigorous TIMSS exam and a newstate assessment in math, Missouri gained even more information fromthe testing.

Now, it's the only state in the nation to be able to tell how itsown statewide test compares with the global math exam as aninternational benchmark. The verdict: The Show-Me State has a toughtest.

Missouri and Oregon became only the fourth and fifth states--afterColorado, Illinois, and Minnesota--to give TIMSS exams to students as if the states were nations that had taken part in the globalstudy. Missouri and Oregon took the Education Department up on itsoffer of a chance to give the exams last year.

Overall, Oregon came out a bit ahead of Missouri. When ranked amongthe 41 countries participating in TIMSS at the 8th grade level,Oregon fell behind only Singapore on the science exam. In math,eight countries scored significantly higher than Oregon.

"Oregon's school improvement act calls for us to have the best-educated citizens in the nation and the world," Norma Paulus, thestate superintendent of public instruction, said in a preparedstatement. "These results show that we're well along the road toreaching that goal."

A total of 2,200 randomly-selected, representative students in 58Oregon schools took the tests.

'Doing OK?'

In Missouri, 8th graders also did well in science, again with justSingapore doing statistically better. They fared somewhat worse thanthe Oregonians in math, with 18 countries coming out ahead of them.As a whole, American 8th graders had seen nine nations score higherin science and 20 nations do better in math.

A representative sample of 2,102 8th graders from 54 districts tookboth the new Missouri Assessment Program and the TIMSS exams.

With its students taking the state test and the international exams,Missouri learned it is holding its students to tough performancestandards on its home-grown assessment.

For instance, to be called "advanced," Missouri students must scoreat least 43 points higher on the state assessment than do the top 10percent of world performers on TIMSS. Likewise, the point at which aMissouri student is called "proficient" is 22 points higher than thecut-off score to rank in the top quarter of TIMSS test-takers.

The results are "excellent news," said James Friedebach, thedirector of assessment for the Missouri education department. Theclose statistical link established between the Missouri state testand TIMSS "gave us a real opportunity to see how we're reallydoing."

"It's going to give districts an idea how they did against aninternational benchmark," Mr. Friedebach said. "It's a way to helpthem answer the question, 'Are we doing OK?'

"I think we've taken a very substantial step," he said, "inconnecting large-scale assessment with classroom instruction."***********************************************************

Oregon eighth graders scored above the international and nationalaverages on science and math tests conducted by the ThirdInternational Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

In fact, of the 41 international participants, only Singapore scoredsignificantly higher than Oregon in science, and only eightcountries scored significantly higher in math.

"Oregon's school improvement act calls for us to have the besteducated citizens in the nation and the world," said State SchoolsSupt. Norma Paulus. "These results show that we're well along theroad to reaching that goal."

About 2,200 Oregon students in 58 schools last year took the sametests as the international participants took in 1995. TIMSS is thelargest, most comprehensive and most rigorous international study ofstudent achievement ever undertaken.

Oregon students scored 564 on the science test. That's significantlyabove the international average of 516 and the U.S. average of 534.Twenty-one percent of Oregon students scored in the top 10 percenton the science test, while 40 percent were in the top quarter and 64percent in the top half.

On the math test, Oregon students scored 525, higher than theinternational score of 513 and the national score of 500. Ninepercent of Oregon students were in the top 10 percent, 27 percent in the top quarter and 55 percent in the top half.

"I credit Oregon science and math teachers for our excellentshowing," said Paulus who invited some of the state's science andmath teachers to today's announcement. "Oregon teachers are workingtirelessly to help students reach our high academic standards.

The TIMSS report is filled with detailed information on the resultsand factors affecting the scores.

For instance, the report shows a high correlation between testscores and time spent watching television. It shows that Oregonstudents watch less television than students in the nation and inmost participating countries. This finding agrees with earlier results from Oregon's participation in the National Assessment ofEducational Progress (NAEP).

Oregon boys scored significantly higher than girls on the sciencetest. The same gender difference was not found when Oregonparticipated in a science test conducted by NAEP.

More insights to science learning will come this summer when Oregonannounces results of its first state science test conducted thisyear.

Paulus said testing is vital to charting student progress.

"Before Oregon's school improvement act was approved in 1991, we hada very limited ability to report on the quality of our schools," shesaid. "Now, through the state assessment and Oregon's participationin national and international tests, we are beginning to establish avaluable baseline for learning."

Only two other states, Missouri and Minnesota, participated in theTIMSS tests.

(contact Larry Austin: 503-378-3573, ext. 530)

Media: The TIMSS reports on science and math areposted on the Oregon Department of Education's website found at http://www.ode.state.or.us

Norma Paulus, State Superintendent of Public Instruction********************************************************************************************************************